talk in chat

Privilege type: Communication privilege

Awarded at: 20 reputation

What is chat?

All sites have a real time web chat component, or as we like to call it, the "third place".

The third place is a term used in the concept of community building to refer to social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace. In his influential book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.

Most needed are those ‘third places’ which lend a public balance to the increased privatization of home life. Third places are nothing more than informal public gathering places. The phrase ‘third places’ derives from considering our homes to be the ‘first’ places in our lives, and our work places the ‘second.’

When should I visit chat?

for real time collaboration

to meet the fellow members of your community in a more social environment

for less structured, casual (but still roughly on-topic) conversation

Where is chat?

There is a link to chat in the footer of every page, as well as in the Stack Exchange site switcher menu (top left corner of the page). The chat for this site is at: